


Rattling Cages

by gardnerhill



Series: 221b Ficlets by Gardnerhill [78]
Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: 221B Ficlet, Alternate Universe - Western, Animal Death, Community: watsons_woes, Gen, Prompt Fic, Snakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-30 00:26:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19841698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardnerhill/pseuds/gardnerhill
Summary: It's not a good idea to antagonize a snake-handler.





	Rattling Cages

**Author's Note:**

> For the 2019 July Watson's Woes Promptfest prompt #16: **No Dogs Allowed: Put an animal in the story – one other than a dog.**

I never liked Big Grim; pimps are all sons of bitches. Normally I stayed out of the Red Circle unless I needed a whore. But one whore was lying dead in her room and Lock had to open his fool mouth.

Texas is no place for damn idiots, like a man who don't carry a gun in a shithole like Bakerstown. We two only came here January, and now April was thundering down outside the whorehouse, and the tin star shone brand-new on Lock's vest, and nobody knew us here, and Lock didn't carry a gun.

A dead whore could be anything – too much opium, a dirty needle, bad batch of saloon lightning. But Lock just had to look, and found a sidewinder under Julie's bed. I backed off as it slithered out; goddamn biggest rattlesnake I ever seen in Texas, silent as the grave, rattler cut off.

Lock looked up at Grim. "Murderer."

"Goddamn pipsqueak sheriff I'll goddamn break you in two." Grim's eyes were a grizzly's eyes as he raised his hands.

That's when I grabbed that snake and hove it at Grim. All three of us were shocked at me. Then Grim dropped dead, I shot the snake's head off, and Lock cussed me out.

But nobody bothers Sheriff Lock now. And that's how I got these boots.


End file.
